Packaged sterile hypodermic needles



Jan. 3, 1961 JONES 2,966,986

PACKAGED STERILE HYPODERMIC NEEDLES Filed Jan. 14. 1959 3 INVENTOR.

ATTOP/VE) 2,966,986 Patented Jan. 3, 196.1

PACKAGED STERILE HYPODERMIC NEEDLES David D. Jones, Weston, Conn., assignor to Extruded Plastics, Incorporated, Norwalk, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Jan. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 786,800

8 Claims. (Cl. 206-631) This invention relates to a new article of manufacture, more particularly to a packaged hypodermic needle.

The use of presterilized single-use hypodermic needles has become increasingly popular in the medical profession in recent years. Packaged hypodermic needles which have been sterilized and protected from subsequent contamination and which are inexpensive enough to be discarded after a single use are finding widespread acceptance among busy physicians and in hospitals. They have the advantages that they need not be sterilized by the physician or nurse prior to use, they can be made into many diiferent sizes for use with a single syringe and need not be cleaned after use. Obviously these packaged hypodermic needles should be as inexpensive as possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a packaged and sterilized single-use hypodermic needle of low cost. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

An understanding of the present invention may be obtained from the drawing, Figure 1 of which is an elevational view of a hypodermic needle packaged in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is an elevational view with a part cut away of the packaged needle with cap removed. Figure 3 is a top view of the article taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Figure 3 of the part of the article illustrated in Figure 2.

Referring again to Figure l, the new article of manufacture of the present invention comprises a container 1 made of a suitable plastic material such as cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate, or other extrudable plastic material. Preferably the body of the container should be made of a transparent material to facilitate identification of the needle. The body of the container 1 is preferably made from an extruded tube of the plastic material about 0.005 to 0.010 inch in wall thickness. This body section is characterized by having one end sealed 2 which may be accomplished by crimping one end of the tube and using acetone or some other solvent for the plastic as a cement. If desired, the tube may be closed with a cap or plug of the same or some other material and suitably sealed with cement or heat. The open end of the container is closed with a plastic cap 3 which is readily formed by a molding process or by drawing from a sheet of the plastic material in known manner.

The open end of the tube is formed by turning in a section of the tube by pressing the tube against a heated turning fixture which softens the end of the tube and turns the section inward as is indicated in the drawing.

The hypodermic needle assembly consists essentially of a hollow needle portion 7 suitably sharpened at one end 8 and fitted into a body 9 which may be made either of metal or some suitable moldable plastic material. Frequently the body portion or shank of the hypodermic needle is made of a plastic material which will not stand steam sterilization, thus discouraging use of the needle a second time.

The hypodermic needle shown in the drawings is of the well-known Luer-Lok type which is so designed as to fit into the end of the barrel of a syringe. The shank of the particular hypodermic needle shown in the drawings is slightly tapered to help secure a tighter fit in the top of the container. It will be understood, of course, that hypodermic needles having straight shanks may be used. The slight taper of the shank tends to cause the plastic material of the body of the container to coldflow when firmly inserted so that the turned-in portion assumes the appearance of a truncated cone as indicated by the drawings in which the innermost section 5 has a slightly smaller diameter than the opening at 6.

The top 10 of the shank in which the needle is molded is provided with lugs 11 and 12 which are formed to fit in screw threads of the syringe barrel. In operation, the cap 3 is removed and the uncovered end of the shank is fitted into the screws of the syringe and the syringe is turned with the lugs 11 and 12 following the screw threads until the plastic fitment is locked securely in place. The hypodermic needle may then be withdrawn from the tube and is ready for use. An advantage of the invention is that the light plastic body 1 may be left on the shank to protect the needle until it is to be used.

Hypodermic needle fitments of the type just described are not new. However, it has been necessary in other packaged hypodermic needles of the type described herein to employ a more complicated and expensive construction. The package itself has been molded of polyethylene or similar moldable plastic material. To prevent the hypodermic needle fitment from turning as the syringe is screwed on to the end of the fitment, it has been necessary to provide channels in the plastic fitment and corresponding locking lugs in the polyethylene body, or the reverse, to prevent the needle fitment from turning as it is being fastened to the body of the syringe. The necessity of such complicated construction is avoided by the present invention. A very important feature of the new article of the present invention is the fact that the thin wall construction as is illustrated particularly in Figure 4 is readily deformed by pressure of the thumb and forefinger as it is being held as the body of the syringe is attached; and this slight pressure carried through to the inner walls of the body of the tube makes it possible for the operator of the device to prevent any slippage Whatever, and a tight fit of the needle in the syringe is insured. The wedge-like action that is obtained when using a hypodermic needle with a tapered shank as is illustrated in the drawings also tends to give a better fit in the package making it less likely for the needle to turn as it is being screwed into the syringe and at the same time making it easier to be withdrawn.

The hypodermic neede and the package may be separately sterilized prior to assembly or the article may be sterilized after it has been assembled with either gaseous or liquid sterilizing agents. Apparently certain sterilizing gases such as ethylene oxide are able to penetrate the cellulosic body and effect the sterilization of the contents even though completely sealed.

Ordinarily it is not necessary to seal the cap 3 in place; but under some circumstances it may be desirable to seal the cap with a plastic band or some low temperature melting film-forming plastic material which can be readily stripped from the cap when the cap is to be removed.

I claim:

1. An article of the character described comprising a tubular container of flexible thin-wall construction sealed at one end and having an open end, a section of the tubular body turned in to provide a seat for the shank of a hypodermic needle at said open end, a hypodermic needle and its supporting shank disposed in said seat,

lugs on said shank extending outward from the opening in the end of said tubular body and being adapted to engage screw threads in the body of a syringe, and a tightly fitting cap covering the said assembly, the Walls of the open end of the container body being sufliciently thin so as to be deformed by light pressure to thereby hold the shank of said needle assembly firmly in position and prevent rotation as the lugs thereof are being turned into the syringe.

2. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance with claim 1 in which the thin-wall construction of the tubular container is transparent.

3. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance with claim 1 in which the thin-wall construction of the tubular container is 0.005 to 0.01 inch in thickness.

4. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance with claim 1 in which the thin-wall construction of the tubular container is a cellulose ester.

5. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance With claim 1 in which the thin-wall construction of the tubular container is cellulose acetate butyrate.

6. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance with claim 1 in which the thin-wall construction of the tubular container is cellulose propionate.

7. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance with claim 1 in which the thin-wall construction of the tubular container is cellulose acetate.

8. A packaged hypodermic needle in accordance with claim 1 in which the turned-in section of the tubular body is in the form of a truncated cone and the shank of the hypodermic needle is conical.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,389,659 Hollowood Sept. 6, 1921 2,492,326 Scotti Dec. 27, 1949 2,555,863 Slaughter June 5, 1951 2,619,228 Long Nov. 25, 1952 2,720,969 Kendall Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 43,048 France Nov. 7, 1933 (Addition to No. 630,454) 85,137 Sweden Dec. 24, 1935 

